Faculty

PIANO

Nancy Colter, piano, is a native of California who now lives on Mount Desert Island. Nancy began her musical studies in the San Francisco Bay area, earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Sonoma State University and completed post-graduate studies at Mills College and Bennington College, where she received a Master of Fine Arts degree in chamber music performance. As a recitalist and chamber musician, she has performed widely on the west coast and throughout New England, and has presented premier performances of works by several contemporary composers. Nancy’s love of teaching students of all ages led her to become a founding member of both Arthur Russell Strings and ECMI, where she serves as artistic director and a member of the faculty.

Jessica Mehre, piano, is from the small farming town of Klondike, Wisconsin. She has studied piano at St. Norbert College and in the musically persuasive and beautiful city of Florence, Italy, and has the privilege to study with Dr. Silver while she is currently working on her Masters in Piano Performance at the University of Maine in Orono. Jessica has successfully performed solo and collaborative works in college honors programs, national auditions, and recitals to promote the many emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of classical music. When she is away from the keyboard, Jessica seeks new waterways to explore while kayaking with her husband, with the additional advantage of finding inspiration for the music she plays in the rivers and forests of Maine.

Tamara Thomas, piano, was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia. Growing up she was fortunate to attend a well-regarded private music school. The school helped shape her educational and ethical teaching foundation, and encouraged her to embrace her dream of teaching children. Tamara was admitted to the Rimsky Korsakov College of Music in 1972, now known as the St. Petersburg Conservatory. After graduation in 1979 she was given the title of music teacher and accompanist. Upon marriage to her husband, Tamara moved to the Bangor area in 2003, where she has maintained a private studio. She is presently working as the organist at the EOCC church in Orrington.

STRINGS

Robert Dan, violin/viola – Cited by the New York Times as “a consistently tasteful stylist,” Robert Dan continues to be one of the most sought after of violists. Mr. Dan has appeared extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan, performing and giving master classes. He has been a member of the Theater Chamber Players of the Kennedy Center, for many years an Artist in Residence at Harvard University, and has appeared on many prestigious music series, including Carnegie Hall, New York. Mr. Dan is no stranger to Maine audiences, having performed at the Portland Music Festival, Camden Chamber Music Society, University of Maine’s Chamber Music Institute, the Down East Music School, Kneisel Hall, and the Deer Isle and Bucksport annual concerts. He has performed with many orchestras, and has been of the faculties of the University of Connecticut, the Manhattan School of Music, Michigan State University, and currently at Bates College. Mr. Dan has recorded for Centaur, Phillips, CRI, and Musical Heritage Society.

Luke Fatora, violin, was drawn to the violin after he found himself rocking out to fiddle music in the hills of Appalachia as a young boy. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Luke has performed in contexts that range from fiddling for square dances, to improvising with DJ’s and ballet dancers, to performing contemporary and traditional classical music in the World Financial Center and Carnegie Hall. Luke has also pursued interests in composition and conducting: he has received awards from the Pikes Peak Young Composers Competition and served as the Music Director for the Summit Community Orchestra. Most recently, Luke was a Quartet Fellow at Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI where he was performing in robust and creative concert series while teaching individuals and coaching ensembles. Luke has taught in Colorado, San Francisco, and Rhode Island – he is excited by helping students develop a natural and creative approach to playing that allows for free and thoughtful self expression.

Noreen Silver, cello,was born and grew up in Glasgow, Scotland. Her studies took her to London’s Royal College of Music and to Boston’s New England Conservatory as the recipient of a Rotary International Fellowship. She and pianist husband Phillip Silver form the internationally acclaimed Silver Duo, with two CD recordings on the Toccata Classics label. Noreen’s professional experience includes several years in Seattle’s Northwest Chamber Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Opera, Boston Opera, London’s BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She is principal cellist of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and has often appeared as soloist with the orchestra. Noreen has been on the University of Maine faculty since 1999, where she directs the chamber music program and teaches cello performance.

Marisa Solomon, cello, received performance degrees from the Oberlin College and San Francisco Conservatories of Music. She is an avid chamber musician, teacher and performer, plus she was a founding member of the Hancock St. Quartet, Nor’easter Quartet, and Cormier Trio. She has participated in many festivals, including Kneisel Hall, Aspen Music Festival, New York String Seminar, Round Top, Festival dei Due Mondi, Spoleto USA and the Breckenridge Music Festival. Marisa teaches privately and performs in the Bangor area, as well as being on the adjunct faculty at the University of Maine-Orono.

Aija Kante-Cahn, cello, was born in Riga, Latvia. Ms. Kante-Cahn obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Cello Performance from the J. Vitols Music Academy of Latvia where she studied with Eleonora Testeleca who was an important student of the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Ms. Kante-Cahn completed her Master’s Degree at the Latvian Music Academie studying chamber music. After graduation she studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, Germany. She has been a faculty member of several music schools in Riga, Latvia and at the Mahidol University in Bangkok,Thailand. The Duo Rigensis was formed with Ms. Kante-Cahn and Ms. Linde in 2000. Later, they won major critical acclaim for a series of sold-out chamber concerts in Cologne, Germany. In addition to the Duo Rigensis, she performed with several orchestras and ensembles including the Elsberg Quartet. Ms. Kante-Cahn has participated in European festivals such as the “”Musik in den Heusern der Stadt”, the Rostropovich Cello Festival, and Kuhmo (Finland) Chamber Music Festival.

GUITAR

Kevin Morse, classical guitar, has spent his life dedicated to the development and mastery of the classical guitar. He is the protégé of a legendary guitarist from England named Stanley Watson, whom he met when he was 13 years old in Rochester, New York. Since then, Kevin’s powerful technique and sound has earned him formidable recognition and acclaim. He continues to teach Watson’s methods.

He has performed throughout the United States and Europe. He has been an artist in residence at numerous New England schools and is committed to the exposure and education of young people to the world of Spanish Guitar. In 1992 he was the winner of a prestigious International Competition sponsored by “Guitar Player Magazine”, where he was named the “Ultimate Classical Guitarist” from an extensive field of players from Europe and the United States.

PERCUSSION

Beau Lisy, percussion, earned his BA in Percussion Performance at Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music. Beau traveled twice to The Gambia, West Africa to train on the Djembe, Balafon, and bongo instruments. Fueled by his family’s passion for art and music, Beau Lisy has been teaching percussion to all ages for 30 years. Mr. Lisy performs with Mundus Trio, Up Ensemble, Mike Bennett and Balantama, Kira Willey and “Fireflies Musical Yoga for Kids,” “Big Pete” Pearson and The Blues Sevilles, Paul Sullivan and The Bagaduce Choir. Beau’s musical palette includes performing and recording new and traditional music ranging from: Pop/Rock, Jazz and Blues, West African Djembe and Sabar music, Afro-Cuban and South American rhythms.

VOICE

Deborah Reinke, Early Childhood Music, was born in Rumford, Maine and received a B.M. in Music Education from the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY. Her interests in Music Learning Theory eventually led her to study with its creator, Edwin Gordon, and she received an M.M. under his tutelage at Temple University. While at Temple, she was trained in Early Childhood Music Education and has been teaching classes to preschool children in many venues during the last 22 years. Deborah also helps direct the GSA fall musicals and sings regularly in her church choir and with the Bagaduce Chorale.

Danielle Woerner, singer and teacher, began her career in New York City and now is based in Milbridge, ME, where she co-founded and directs the Sunrise County Arts Institute. She’s active in a broad range of musical repertoires and genres: classical, operatic, musical theater, jazz, folk, world. She works closely with living composers, and executive-produced her two solo CDs of 20th-century American songs and chamber music for commercial labels. In the Hudson Valley, she was an Artist in Residence at SUNY/Ulster and with the Hudson Valley Youth Chorale, an ensemble she helped found. She taught singing for the Vassar College Drama Dept., Bard College Music Dept., and Dutchess (NY) Community College Adult Division. Through the Bronx Arts Ensemble, she led classroom and choral singing, including District Chorus, with Bronx elementary school children. Danielle completed her B.A. in Music at Bard, and holds a Master’s Certificate in Songwriting with scholarship honors from Berklee music. As a member of the New York Singing Teachers’ Assn., she completed NYSTA’s Professional Development program in vocal health, anatomy/physiology, pedagogy, acoustics and repertoire.